AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
THE GAMBIA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN
TECHNICAL REPORT No. 15
TOURISM RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.CONTEXT
1.1Introduction......
1.2Methodology and Scope of Work......
2.SITUATION ANALYSIS AND SECTOR RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1Tourism Impacts......
2.2Institutional Settings......
2.3Information Needs......
2.4Electricity......
2.5Water Supply......
2.6Liquid Waste Management......
2.7Solid Waste Management......
2.8Roads and Transportation......
2.9Telecommunications......
3.FUTURE TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS
3.1Future Scenarios......
3.2Servicing the Ten Tourist Areas......
3.3Institutional Recommendations......
3.4Suggested Levels of Service and Standards......
3.5Unit Costs......
4.IMMEDIATE ACTION PLAN
4.1Introduction......
4.2Kotu Stream Protection Programme......
4.3Green Tourism Programme......
4.4Financing Tourism Infrastructure......
ANNEX A - INFRASTRUCTURE DATA
ANNEX B– PROPOSED NATIONAL ROADS UPGRADING PROGRAMME (As at 2004)
Technical Report No. 15 – Tourism Related Infrastructure / 1EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Technical Report comprises the infrastructure review for the Gambia Tourism Development Master Plan (TDMP). It covers water and electricity supply, waste management, transportation and roads.
The report aims to:
Assess water and electricity resources and waste management capacities in order to identify any constraints to the tourism sector;
Assess availability of off-site infrastructure for the tourism sector;
Identify any key infrastructure-related environmental issues that might impact on tourism;
Recommend actions for the tourism sector for infrastructure provision and service delivery;
Outline infrastructure needs for the proposed inland tourist development areas,
Suggest levels of service and standards for tourism infrastructure and develop unit costs for off-site infrastructure to assist in the development of future planning scenarios;
Identify programmes and high priority projects for short-term implementation.
The main tourism area is adjacent to the Greater Banjul Area, which now contains around 50% of The Gambia’s population. Therefore, tourist infrastructure demands, even if they were to substantially increase, are still marginal compared to the overall resource demands of this rapidly growing urban area. The challenge government faces is to manage this urban growth while maintaining an environment suitable for tourism.
A summary of the status, issues and recommendations for each sector is contained in the table below (Tourism Related Infrastructure – Sector Summary).
The major challenge is electricity generation and, to a much lesser extent, waste management. Water resources, electricity transmission, roads and telecommunications are all more than adequate for an expanded tourism sector in the Greater Banjul Area. The main issue with inland tourism is providing reasonably quick and comfortable access for tourists. The ongoing roads programme will assist in resolving this issue, particularly along the South Bank of the River Gambia.
The lack of electricity generation is not only impacting adversely on the tourism sector, but on all other sectors of The Gambia’s economy.
Technical Report No. 15 – Tourism Related Infrastructure / 1Tourism Related Infrastructure – Sector Summary
Sector / Overall Status / Tourism Status / Proposals / RecommendationsElectricity /
- Critical and deteriorating generation capacity. Current outputs meet 25% of demand.
- Transmission grid updated and can meet both local and tourist demands.
- Hotels need to provide their own power.
- May be cheaper for hotels to generate own electricity.
- Serious risk of sea pollution from oil spills at Kotu Power Station
- Privatisation proposed but needs legislation as NAWEC currently only authority to retail electricity. Draft Electricity bill under preparation.
- New power station at Brikama proposed in future.
- Hotels to continue to provide own power.
- Investigate potential Independent Power Plant for TDA power.
- Reduce demand through savings and solar power.
- Reduce transmission losses and theft.
- Prevent oil spills at Kotu Power Plant.
Water Supply /
- Resource not a constraint, issue with power to pump and distribute water.
- TDA (Kololi area) served by Kotu tank, which is not large enough to meet demands.
- NAWEC supply insufficient for hotels. Supplemented by power borewells.
- May be cheaper for hotels to pump their own water.
- Issue of borewells too close to the sea.
- Ring main to supply TDA from Sanyang to Fajara; also smaller ring from Kotu.
- 25-year Water and Sanitation Master Plan under preparation by NAWEC to identify and prioritise projects.
- Hotels need to continue to provide own supply.
- Reduce demand as part of Green Hotel Program.
- Investigate (pilot) the use of HDPE pipe.
Wastewater (Sanitation) /
- Only Banjul and TDA covered; other areas on-site disposal.
- Stormwater drainage becoming a major problem in urbanising Serrekunda.
- Kotu WWTP not functioning well and polluting Kotu Stream. Issue of sludge being deposited in ponds.
- NAWEC charges do not seem to cover costs.
- Only a few hotels connected, other hotels use septic tanks.
- Water and Sanitation Master Plan will develop overall proposals.
- Rehabilitate Kotu wastewater treatment plant and extend to other areas.
- Possible plant operation by private sector.
- Include stormwater drainage with sewerage planning in Serrekunda
- Need to protect beach erosion from stormwater.
Solid Waste /
- Poor collection efficiency.
- Existing sites at Mile 2 and Bakoteh environmental hazards.
- Uncollected waste aggravates drainage and health problems.
- GTA arrange for contractor to collect from hotels. No payment to local authorities for dumping.
- Temporary upgrading of Mile 2 and Bakoteh sites to landfill while new sanitary landfill is developed near Brikama. Eventual closure of Mile 2 and Bakoteh.
- Improved recycling and composting.
- Waste minimisation programme for hotels.
- Investigate potential for hotels to keep beach clean.
Roads and Transporta-tion /
- Inadequate roads in most urban areas.
- Lack of funds for road maintenance
- Poor road conditions to inland areas.
- Good roads in tourist areas and to airport.
- Access to inland tourist sites time consuming and uncomfortable.
- Upgrading of main South Bank road.
- Access road between Bijilo and Brufut required.
- Use concrete roads in coastal areas prone to flooding.
Telecommu-nications /
- Full coverage of GSM mobile and land line phones. Current capacity is beyond likely demand.
- Full coverage of GSM mobile and land line phones. Current capacity is beyond likely demand.
- Planned countrywide expansion for landlines.
- Improve international lines, particularly for internet access.
Technical Report No. 15 – Tourism Related Infrastructure / 1
The main programmes identified are:
Kotu Stream Protection Programme which aims to prevent pollution in Kotu stream and to the sea. This comprises:
Clean-up and closure of Bakoteh solid waste dump. This is already designed and will be assisted through World Bank funding.
Rehabilitation of Kotu Wastewater treatment Plant (WWTP), possibly include this as a priority project under the Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan being prepared by NAWEC.
Prevention of oil spills from Kotu Power Plant. A feasibility study is required to determine the optimal physical and operational interventions and costs.
A Green Hotel Programme to minimise tourism demand on resources and protect the tourism environment.
Other tourism infrastructure, which will also benefit the local population, such, as provision of back-up generators at NAWEC’s borewells and the construction of additional water storage tank at Kotu.
1.CONTEXT
1.1Introduction
This report comprises the infrastructure review for The Gambia Tourism Development Master Plan (TDMP). It contains an assessment of the infrastructure and services required to meet existing and future tourism demands. Included is a review of water resources and water supply, roads and transportation, solid and liquid waste management, and electricity. Air access and airport related infrastructure has been covered by the Air Access Report (TR2). Similarly, while this report covers issues with solid and liquid waste management, specific environmental aspects have been dealt with by the Environmental Report. (TR10)
Unless specifically requested and appreciated, such as staying at an eco-tourist lodge, tourists expect and require sufficient and reliable infrastructure in and around their tourism area. At the very least this requires adequate and failsafe water and power supply and effective waste management at their accommodation. If tourist visits are to be promoted to aesthetic or cultural sites in the country, access should be relatively effortless and not too physically demanding. A lack of water or power, or an extremely unpleasant environment caused by poor waste management in the tourism area, will most likely result in substantially reduced tourist numbers.
1.2Methodology and Scope of Work
The methodology to carrying out the scope of work has been mainly through a substantive series of meetings with government departments, para-statal organisations (Government owned companies), local governments, private sector representatives and donor institutions involved in infrastructure provision and tourism in The Gambia.
Site visits to key infrastructure sites, such as Kotu Power Plant, Kotu Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and Bakoteh Solid Waste Dump-site were also undertaken. Field visits were also made to potential tourism sites along the Southwest coast and inland.
Generally, discussions at the meetings focused on: (a) the institutional remit of the agency; (b) key issues with regard to their infrastructure sector; and (c) ongoing and proposed projects. Reports, plans and drawings available with these agencies were reviewed to assess integration with tourism requirements.
Existing tourism related infrastructure was analysed, particularly to determine any resource thresholds with regard to:
the physical availability of water and electricity;
visual and environmental impact of waste management; and
access to tourism sites.
This has been based upon an assessment of existing tourism numbers, local populations and infrastructure and service coverage. Rather than precisely define future infrastructure requirements, the approach has been to provide a more flexible response to resource availability and service provision. Importantly, the tourism sector, including the Government agencies involved, has to be able to guide and meet the infrastructure requirements of the tourism sector whatever scenario occurs. To assist in this guidelines for standards and levels of service have been prepared along with unit costs. Immediate action plans have also been developed for high priority interventions.
This introductory section establishes the background and aims of the report. Section Two contains the situational analysis, which provides a description of the existing infrastructure and service conditions, key issues and proposed projects for each service sector. This also entails a review of technical, financial and institutional issues. The Third Section outlines the potential infrastructure requirements for the proposed ten tourist areas suggested by the TDMP Physical Planner (TR 5). To assist the Physical Planner and Product Development Specialist estimate future tourism investment requirements, levels of service and standards for tourism related infrastructure have been suggested and unit costs developed for necessary off-site infrastructure requirements.
As it is important that the TDMP can move quickly towards implementation, the final section identifies key programmes and suggests some immediate actions which can be undertaken to improve services and protect tourism infrastructure. It also proposes longer term plans, which can be implemented as funds become available. The report is also supported by annexes, which are referred to in the text.
2.SITUATION ANALYSIS AND SECTOR RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1Tourism Impacts
The main area which is influenced by tourism is a 15 kilometre strip of the West Coast from Cape Point to Brufut termed as the Greater Banjul Area (GBA) comprising Banjul and KanifingMunicipalities and part of Brikama Area Council. This area is the most densely populated and urbanised part of the country. Preliminary results for the 2003 Census show that for the GBA plus Kombos North, South and Central now contains around 670,000 people. This accounts for 50 % of The Gambia’s population.
The Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA) estimate that there are around 6,500 hotel beds in this area. Per capita consumption of resources by tourists is very much higher than that of the local population. Consequently, each tourist produces much more waste. However, with hotel capacity at one per cent of the local population, most tourism infrastructure demands are a small increment of the needs of the whole GBA. While the population of Banjul is falling, there is rapid growth in the other areas with annual growth averaging 4.5% per annum over the last decade. With this growth expected to continue, even if the number of tourist beds was to substantially increase, the challenge facing Government is to meet the ever increasing local demands and ensure the tourism assets of beach and sea are not overwhelmed by unmanaged urban growth.
As the tourism area is lying so close to the country’s largest urban area, it is difficult to separate the off-site infrastructure for tourist and non-tourist related demands. However, the Tourism Development Area (TDA), an 800 metre deep coastal trip running southwards from Kotu Stream to the Senegal Border, is the area proposed for new tourist development, and tourist-related infrastructure will be required in this area.
With the development of existing and proposed upcountry sites for tourism, there is a need to first create or improve access to these areas while providing accommodation with service levels compatible with tourists’ expectations. A full description of these areas is provided in the Physical Planning report (TR5).
2.2Institutional Settings
Responsibility for providing infrastructure and services lies with both central and local governments. Recognising the critical importance of the key sectors of water and power, these sectors now come directly under the Office of the President.
The Government’s decentralisation process aims to provide more local level responsibility for service delivery. However, the municipalities and area councils require additional resources to allow them to effectively do this, and many decentralised activities, such as physical planning, are still carried out centrally. The Government has also established a number of para-statal organisations. These companies are ultimately wholly owned by the Government.
Gambia Tourism Authority, the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) and Gambia Telecommunications Company Limited (Gamtel) are established companies. Government acts establishing a Roads and Technical Services Authority and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) were passed in 2003, but these Authorities are not yet effective. PURA will regulate the electricity, urban water supply and telecommunications sectors. A Solid Waste Management Authority is also proposed.
The Government has enacted a law establishing The Gambia Divestiture Agency (GDA) to facilitate private sector involvement in the many public enterprises. There are two types of Government Companies. Track One companies are those which are of key importance to the economy and require legislation and regulatory support to be divested. Track Two companies represent other government investments which can be sold without legislation. While most of the key infrastructure companies come under track two, their privatisation should provide substantial opportunities for the tourism sector.
Table 2.1 below provides a summary of the institutional responsibilities for infrastructure and service provision in The Gambia.
Table 2.1Infrastructure Responsibilities
Sector / Planning / Standards Design / Construction / O&M / Remarks1. Power Supply
Generation
Transmission
Tariff Collection / Directorate of Energy / National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) / Both agencies come directly under the President’s Office
2. Water Resources
Ground water resources
Surface water resources
Flood protection / Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR)
GPA monitor tidal data.
3. Urban Water Supply
Extraction and treatment
Transmission
Storage
Distribution & user supply
Tariff collection / National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) / Water and electricity are billed together
4. Rural Water Supply
Bore-wells
Handpumps / Ministry of Water Resources / Often community managed
5. Tourism (Hotels) Water Supply
Extraction and treatment
Transmission
Storage
Distribution & user supply / NAWEC and Own Supply / Many hotels have their own power borewells
6. Wastewater Management
Collection from cities
Trunk
Treatment
Tariff Collection / National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) / Only in Banjul (no treatment)
Kotu Tourism area served by waste stabilisation ponds. Disposal is free for tankered sludge.
Rural / Local Communities
Stormwater drainage / Municipal and Area Councils, but not mandated. / “Orphan” sector
7. Solid Waste Management
Collection in towns
Transportation
Disposal
Tariff collection / Municipal and Area Councils / Monitoring by National Environment Authority
By property tax.
GTA does not compensate local authorities for disposal
Collection in hotels / Gambia Tourist Authority (through contractors)
Collection in rural areas / Local Communities
8. Roads
Trunk & Secondary / Department of State for Works, Construction and Infrastructure (DSWCI)
Local / Municipal and Area Councils
Tourist / Both DSWCI and Municipal and Area Councils / Footpaths by GTA in TDA
Street lights / Municipal and Area Councils / Funded and maintained by GTA around the TDA.
9. Transport
Airports / Civil Aviation Authority (DSWCI)
Sea ports
River ports / Gambia Ports Authority (DSWCI)
Inter-town by road / Government Bus Service
Shared taxi & minibus / Limited Service
Intra-town / Shared taxi & minibus
Tourist / Tourist taxi, Bus
10. Telecommunications
Land lines / Gambia Telecommunications Authority (Gamtel)
Mobile / Cell / Gambia Telecommunications Authority (Gamcell)
Africell (Private sector provider)
In 1993, the Government with World Bank assistance, established GAMWORKS as an independent Company to finance and manage the design and construction of many infrastructure investments. It is owned jointly by Tango (an NGO coordination body), The Gambia Bar Association, Gambia Association of Local Governments and the National Council for Youth and Employment. The board consists of a representative from each agency with the chair rotating annually. The Managing Director is a non-member secretary. GAMWORKS finances various construction activities and technical assistance projects for the government, local government, donors and the private sector. It also carries out project management unit activities, such as procurement and management of design consultants and contractors plus construction management, for other government and private sector agencies. The African Development Bank (ADB) and OPEC also route funds through GAMWORKS and it is trying to convince other donors to also do this.